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he fails to make a convincing case for its use

Incorrect. He notes that debt (finanial or technical) is useful in getting things done more quickly, but must be repaid.

Technical debt enables getting a minimal product or prototype out to gain experience and further refine design. It is specifically contrasted with bad software. Deficiencies are to be addressed later. And yes you're correct in that this last step is often omitted.

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My point is that the "debt" metaphor is what doesn't work, not the strategy of doing less work upfront. Specifically, having a scoping conversation, or a YAGNI conversation, or a "debt" conversation results in less work being done upfront.

However, if the conversation is one of "debt", then, in my experience, the necessary work is not done later, because there is no organization demanding repayment.

I keep thinking the same, did you find a good solution for it? My thinking is to argue to the business to schedule some dedicated time for "investments" to make the iterations faster.

I'm sorry to tell you that the only solution that has ever worked for me is to leave and join a company where engineers make those decisions.

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